Restaurants in Harlem

Despite its noted restaurant renaissance, Harlem has lagged behind as far as small batch scoops are concerned; its market largely dominated by corporate Baskin Robbins. That makes Sugar Hill Creamery undoubtably the biggest local opening of the summer; being the first family-owned ice cream shop to grace the area in 34 years, not to mention some of the Best Ice Cream NYC…

Marcus Samuelsson may be considered the culinary king of Harlem, but The Cecil’s JJ Johnson isn’t that far behind. In addition to being included on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and receiving a James Beard Foundation nomination for “Rising Star,” the chef has made it his mission to educate the public about African food, by way of his critically acclaimed restaurant on W. 118th Street…

What’s not to love about Hot Bread Kitchen? They sell baked goods to finance programs supporting low-income individuals, and everything they make happens to be fantastic. It doesn’t hurt that the guy manning the ovens is former Per Se baker Ben Hershberger, who’s debuting a rum-soaked, fruit-stuffed, almond-filled Stollen this season. That means we’ll probably end up eating our weight in cake, but it’s a bit of holiday overindulgence we can really feel good...

An affordable French ­bistro in Harlem. 308 Lenox Ave., between 125th and 126th Streets (212) 289-5555 Lunch – 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., M-F.; Dinner – 5 p.m.-11 p.m. Sun.-Thur., 5 p.m.- midnight, Fri.-Sat.; Brunch – 11-3 Sat.-Sun. CUISINE French bistro VIBE Charming haunt OCCASION Group dinner, neighborhood eats DON’T-MISS DISH Foie gras terrine, tuna tartare, nougat glacé PRICE Appetizers $8, entrees $16, desserts $7 RESERVATIONS Recommended This is the way New York works: Something unexpected pops up and it turns out to fill a crying need. In other words, it wasn’t so unexpected after all. I mean, why was I surprised to find a good French bistro at 125th St. and Lenox Ave. —and surprised to find it jammed on a Friday night, so jammed you couldn’t make your way to the bar? The city is full of unexpected restaurants...